The Reading Tree

Reading Tree watercolor and graphite
Please click on images for a larger view

With warm woolen stockings

and no one knocking . . .

Curled up to read

what more do you need?

-Bree

The Time of Trilliums

The Time of Trilliums has come and nearly gone, with the last few blooms shining deep in the shadows of the forest.

Soon the only ones that will remain are the two I have embroidered in glass beads. The beads are sewn onto a dark wool fabric I dyed in a tea and vinegar solution.

-Bree

Flowers for Spring and An Alphabet Ring

Trillium

The age-old cycle of Spring has come and the world feels new again.

Our Pear Tree

Flowering Quince (a local favorite of hummingbirds)



How fitting it is, then, that I find myself practicing an art form that is new to me, yet very old. Sewing tiny glass beads onto leather or wool in my own designs.

A brief historical note: the glass beads are considered modern, but the art itself is ancient. Before they had glass beads, the people of North America used dyed porcupine quills and sometimes shells sewn onto leather. So far I have made a small bag, flowers, feathers, and medallions.

Today I can begin to share a project I have been working on for some time . . . an alphabet book!

Each watercolor is 5" x 7"

This seemed a natural progression after making my own font several years ago. There is still much to be done, but I can promise there will be Imps and Ogres, Rhymes and Stories, Adventure and Fun, and a Surprise or Two!

-Bree

Coming Home . . .

black walnut ink/watercolor about 4" x 4.5" (please click images to enlarge)

Just a walk up the hill - and you're in from the chill - whether you're big or small - you're welcome, one and all.

A note regarding the black walnut ink: On a morning in November a friend and I gathered black walnuts that had fallen from their mother tree. We boiled them all day on a wood stove, strained them, and poured the remaining liquid into small glass jars. It produced the most beautiful warm brown color with just a hint of green. Coming Home was painted with this ink, and only the faint blue sky and yellow house have been done in watercolor. This photo was taken just as we set the black walnuts on to boil (they are still in their husks, so they look like apples here).

-Bree

Moongazer

On clear fall evenings, if you take some time to look at the sky, you may find someone else looking, too.

-Bree

A Rhyme In Time

watercolor on paper 5" x 7" (please click on image for a larger view)

-Bree

The Late Bloomers

In my heart I keep a place for the Late Bloomers. When everything else outside (and in) has come and gone, they are there to cheer us all. The blooms above are from the yucca near my front step . . .
. . . the orchid cactus in my home . . .
. . . hops in my garden . . .

. . . orchid in my studio . . .

-Bree